Meet The Team

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You are only ever as good as your team & this is a great team

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. John J. Hayward


(2018-)

Dr. Samuel Aremu
(2018-)
Dr. Bukola Aremu
(2018-)
Dr. Farsheed Shahbazi 


(2019-)

Dr. Nazir Tahir
(2019-)
Dr. Ronnie Banerjee 
(2019-)
Dr. Atefe Ghodrati
(2020-)
Dr. Muhammad Usman Mirza


(2020-)

 
Dr. Michael J. Krause
(2021-)
 
 
Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Abu-Saleh

(2021-)

 
 
Dr. Purshotam Sharma

(2021-)

 
 
Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad

(2021-)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Ezequiel Silva Nigenda

(2022-)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Kasra Razmkhah

(2022-)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Joseph Bautista

(2022-)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Mary Egbuta

(2022-)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Farnaz Abed Ashtiani

(2022-)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Anton Homon

(2022-)

 

Doctoral Students

Daniel Meister
(2016-)
Mana Dashti
(2017-)
Michael Reynolds
(2017-)
Sanaz Nadimi
(2019-)
Sarah Nasri


(2020-)

 
Samra Khan
(2020-)
Sanam Mohammadzadeh

(2020-)

Behzad Bolandi
(2020-)
Sama Dehghan
(2021-)
Elham Pourian
(2021-)
Peihan Xu

(2020-)

Olena Tykhoniuk

(2022-)

Masters Students

İrem Şimşek

(2021-)

 
Jhanielle James

(2022-)

 
Mohaddeseh Mansouri

(2023-)

 
Vlad Lytychevskyi

(2023-)

 
Will Hosie


(2023-)

 
Victoria Kis


(2023-)

 

Visiting Scholars

Mahasin Al-Shabi

(2019-)

Neda Mazinani

(2023-)

 

Undergraduate Researchers

Isaac Gagnier


(2024)

 
Jaxon Laramie


(2024)

 
Chitra Bidlon


(2024)

 
Sophia Campana


(2024)

 
Adam Salloum


(2024)

 
Deya’a Almasri


(2024)

 
Pavithra Prasad


(2024)

 
Prajwal Ananthanarayana


(2024)

 
Lukas Merk


(2024)

 
Mohamad El Mais


(2024)

 
Ayesha Sayyeda


(2025)

 
Teagan Kukhta


(2025)

 
Laith Almasri


(2025)

 
Dami Babs-Olorunfemi


(2025)

 
Nerojini Nehruji


(2025)

 
Alex Sabadus


(2025)

 
Kaitlin Ferraro


(2026)

 
Jonathan Houser


(2026)

 
Jaden Burke


(2026)

 
Ryan Gaudet


(2026)

 
Treasure Moriyo


(2027)

 
Liz Sylvestre


(2027)

 
Connor Filiault


(2027)

 
Vivian Peng


(2027)

 
Julia Rubino


(2027)

 
Joseph O’Neil


(2027)

 
Sofia Milicia


(2027)

 
Fadya Youssef


(2027)

 
Brock Murphy


(2027)

 
Emma Kljajic


(2027)

 
Mariam Akram


(2027)

 
Ibrahim Arain


(2027)

 
Robyn Jütte


(2027)

 
Tayeba Azeem


(2027)

 
Dania Mousa


(2027)

 
Aleena Kappadakunnel


(2027)

 
Tristan Hanson


(2027)

 

High-School Researchers & Students

Iman Yekinni

(April 2023-Present)

 Volunteer 

 

Research Staff

Imran Ahmad Khan

(2021-)

 
Saeed Velayati

 

(2021-)

 
Angela Mulcaster

(2022-)

 
Sara Hassanzadehroknabadi

(2022-)

 

Alumni

Postdocs & Research Associates

Dr. N. Kodiah Beyeh

(April 2017-July 2018)

Dr. Christopher Dieni
(April 2018-June 2019)
Dr. Martin Bakht


(Nov 2019- Jan 2020)

Dr. Ashley Dadalt


(Dec 2020- Feb 2022)

Current position:

Postdoctoral Researcher

(U of Windsor)

Dr. Kanchan Sinha Roy

(Dec 2021- Feb 2022)

Current position:

Postdoctoral scholar

(Stanford University)

Dr. Neda Mashhadi

(Oct 2020- Aug 2022)

Current Position:

Research Scientist

(Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd.)

Dr. Fraser Pick

(Sep 2018- Mar 2022)

Co-founder

Spoitz Enterprises Inc.

Dr. Nazanin Taimoory


(Jul 2016- Oct 2022)

Current position:

Senior scientist

NuChem, Montreal

Dr. Maryam Kosar


(May 2020- Mar 2023)

 

Former Grad Students

Emmanuel Perez Escalante

(July 2019-December 2019)

 
Dominique Leckie

 (September 2016-July 2017)

Xiao Yu

(2018-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

Doctoral Student

(McMaster University)

 
Iraj Sadraei

(2016-2020)

 

Current Position:

 
 

NuChem Therapeutics

 

(Montreal)

 
Samaneh Mehri

(2019-2021)


Current Position:

 
 

Doctoral Student

 

(UAB Alabama)

 
Susanna Vu

(2020-2022)

 

Current Position:

Doctoral Student

(Concordia University)

Paul Tucci

(2020-2022)

 
Atousa Ahmadi

(2021-2022)

Current Position:

Doctoral Student

(Univesity of Windsor)

Former Undergrad Students

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Eileen-Yunjung O

(2017 – 2017)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Unknown

 
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Vrunjal Gandhi

(2017 – 2017)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Scientist, Apotex

 
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Angela Simonovski

(2017 – 2017)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Pharmacy Student

 

(University of Queensland,

 

Australia)

 
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Adan Sadiq Ahmed

(2016 – 2017)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical Professional Intern &

 

Teacher at a private school

 

(Windsor)

 
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Adan Sadiq Ahmed

(2016 – 2017)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical Professional Intern &

 

Teacher at a private school

 

(Windsor)

 
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Emmanuel Igbokwe

(2016 – 2017)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(University of Toronto)

 
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Rohaila Zehra

(2017 – 2018)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Quality Assurance Scientist

 

Accuristix

 
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Zachary Rezler

(2018 – 2018)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(McMaster University)

 
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Rose Fayoumi

(2016 – 2018)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Unknown

 
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Jonathan Franke

(2018 – 2018)

 

Current Position:

 

 

MSc. Chemical Biology

 

Student at HKI

 

(Germany)

 
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Jana Khanafer

(2018 – 2018)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Advanced Foot and Brace

 

(Windsor)

 
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Anthony Chifor

(2017 – 2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Research Assistant

 

(Wayne State University)

 
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Michael Qadish

(2017 – 2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(University of Toronto)

 
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Liam LeClair

(2018 – 2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Professional Lacrosse Player

 

Medical Student

 

(Western University,

 

Windsor Campus)

 
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Mansi Arora

(2018 – 2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Student in Health and

 

Biomedical Science

 

(University of Windsor)

 
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Ashutosh Agrahari

(2019 – 2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Graduate Student

 

(Purdue University)

 
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Asma Ghafoor

(2017-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(McMaster University)

 
Jonathan Chiaramonte

(2018-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Deceased

 
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Greg Yousif

(2016-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School, Schiluch School

 

(University of Western Ontario)

 
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Advait Desai

(2016-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School, Schiluch School

 

(University of Western Ontario)

 
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Mihir Modi

(2018-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Student in Health

 

& Biomedical Science

 

(University of Windsor)

 
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Marta Haireek

(2018-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Student in Molecular Biology

 

and Biotechnology

 

(University of Windsor)

 
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Fabiola Villareal

(2019-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Student

 

(ITESM, Mexico)

 
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Tarasha Sharma

(2019-2019)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Student in Biopharmaceutical

 

Science

 

(University of Ottawa)

 
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Maya Sutherland

(2019-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Student in Health &

 

Biomedical Science

 

(University of Windsor)

 
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Thomson Ly

(2017-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Dental School

 

(University of Western Ontario)

 
Carmen Ly

(2017-2020)

 

 

 

 
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Peter Bahnam

(2017-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Pharmacist’s Assistant

 

 
Victoria Grandi

(2018-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(University of British Columbia)

 
Joy-Lynn Kobti

(2017-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student, Vukotic Lab

 

(University of Windsor)

 
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Maksmilian Dzioura

(2018-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

MSc. Student, Marquardt Group

 

(University of Windsor)

 
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Ali Barazi

(2017-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(Schulich Western,

 

Windsor Campus)

 
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Aman Sehmbi

(2017-2020)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(University of Toronto)

 
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Michelle Park

(2019-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Undergrad Student, Fritz Group

 

(University of Windsor)

 
Emma Dennison

(2017-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(Queen’s University)

 
Sabrina Piazza

(2017-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Pharmacy School

 

(University of British Columbia)

 
Khushali Parikh

(2018-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student, Bain Group

 

(University of Windsor)

 
Sara Knezevic

(2018-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student, the D’Costa Group

 

(University of Ottawa)

 
Lavleen Mader

(2018-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student, Keillor Group

 

(University of Ottawa)

 
Maria Buglisi

(2018-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Walmart Canada

 
Teodora Secara

(2017-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

MSc Medical Science

 

(University of Toronto)

 
Nour Elkott

(2018-2021)

 

Current Position:

 

 

AI Software Development

 

(Utah, USA)

 
Chloe Dickson

(2021-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Undergrad Student

 

University of Windsor

 
Abdulrahman Aljoudi

(2018-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Undergrad Student

 

University of Windsor

 
A.J. Villas

(2021-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Undergrad Student

 

University of Windsor

 
Emma Flynn

(2018-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Undergrad Student

 

University of Windsor

 
Kaitlyn Breault

(2019-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student, Magolan Group

 

(McMaster University)

 
Keith Wong

(2019-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Medical School

 

(University of Ottawa)

 
Moutasem Seifi

(2021-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student, Rondeau-Gagné

 

Group

 

(University of Windsor)

 
Vagisha Aggarwal

(2021-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student,

 
Waffa Bakheet

(2019-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

Grad Student

 

 
Braedan Breault

(2022-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

 
Guntaas Oberoi

(2022-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

 

 
Brad Murphy

(2022-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

Undergrad student,

 

University of Windsor

 

 

 
Jordyn Doherty

(2021-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

Undergrad student

 

University of Windsor

 

 
Linda Nguyen

(2022-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

Undergrad student

 

University of Windsor

 

 
Ana Carolina Terso Ventura


(2022-2022)

 

Current Position:

 

Undergrad student

 

State University of Ponta Grossa

Caroline Gaibel


(2022-2022)

Current Position:

Undergrad student

Georg-August University

Farshad Murtada


(2021-2022)

Current Position:

Doctoral Student, University of Toronto

Biomedical Engineering

 
Afeson Beyene


(2018-2022)

Current position:

Unknown

 
Adam Gaisinsky

 

(2022-2022)

Current Position: 

Undergrad student 

University of Windsor

Sona Regonda


(2022-2022)

Current Position:

Undergrad student

University of Windsor

 
Alex Stoinescu


(2022-2023)

Current Position: 

Undergrad Student

University of Windsor

 
Sara Alabed


(2023)

 
Sukhleen Nagra


(2023)

 
Will Hosie


(2023)

 
Chelsea Ymana

(2023)

 
Noah Robinson

(2023)

 
Maria Rueda

(2023)

 
Jason Wong


(2023)

 
Ryan Salama
(2023)
Maria Meer


(2023)

 
Jessica Dennison


(2023)

 
Sahana Kalidindi


(2024)

 
Fadi Naom


(2024)

 
Dami Babs-Olorunfemi


(2025)

 
Victoria Kis
(2023)

Former High-School Researchers

Anumita Jain

(June 2019 – July 2020)

 
Catherine Lalman

 (June 2018 – July 2019)

Owen Diesenhaus

(July 2020-June 2022)

 Current position:

Undergrad Student

Electrical Engineering

University of Wisconsin-Madison 

 
Madison Beltran

(August 2022-June 2023)

 Volunteer 

 

Former Research Staff

Mohamad Rasizadeh

(2019-2021)

 
Aiyireti (Dina) Dilinaer

(2018-2023)

 

Jonathan Chiaramonte (2019-2020)

B.Sc. University of Windsor (Trant Team 2018-2019) Jonathan was born in Windsor and grew up in Owen Sound before coming back to the University of Windsor for his B.Sc. in Biochemistry (2014-2019). His undergraduate research includes a year volunteering for Dr. Koschinsky and Dr. Boffa under the supervision of Dr. Scipione. He then joined Dr. Trant’s research group in organic synthesis (2018), specifically working towards the synthesis of “acetal-free” carbohydrates (2018-19). His undergraduate research included the synthesis of a glucose bio-probe, which can be used to monitor malignant cells due to their preference for aerobic glycolysis. The second project in Jonathan’s undergraduate research dealt with the induction of asymmetry in the Diels-Alder reaction – a possible avenue towards the synthesis of “acetal-free” carbohydrate mimics. His graduate work focused on further developing these technologies to generate innovative cancer vaccines. Outside the lab, Jonathan’s interests included various sports, pharmacology, toxicology, and drug design. Jonathan passed away in an accident on New Year's Day 2020. Jon was an exceptonally promising researcher and we were both extremely excited about his progress and the new projects he was taking on. He will be greatly missed by all of us in the Team. His work and contributions to the group during his time with us are honoured and will be remembered.

Dr. John J. Hayward

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2018-)

 B.A./M.Sci. University of Cambridge (UK)  Ph.D. University of Cambridge (UK)  PDF University of Windsor  PDF Brock University John is a Brit by birth, but has since become a Canadian Permanent Resident. He gained all his degrees from the University of Cambridge, with his PhD earned under the supervision of Prof. Steve Ley FRS CBE. His PhD studies covered a diverse array of topics, from organocatalysis, flow chemistry and microwave-assisted organic synthesis to the study of non-covalent interactions in the crystalline state. Feeling that a this diverse experience of chemistry was the way forward, he joined the group of Dr Jeremy Rawson, Chair in Molecular Materials at the University of Windsor, where he focussed on a variety of organo-main group and solid state/materials research topics. A productive year with Dr Melanie Pilkington at Brock University followed, focussing on ligand design for transition metal complexes. Starting to yearn for some organic synthesis, he moved across campus to join Prof. Tomáš Hudlický’s group. Since late 2016 he has been back in Windsor, with research positions in the computational enzymology group of Dr James Gauld and now as part of the Trant Team. Concurrent to this he has had several teaching appointments at the University of Windsor, for which he has been awarded the UWSA and Ontario Universities Student Alliance Teaching Awards. John’s research interests are as diverse as his chemical biography would suggest, and include the application of enabling technologies to discover new reactions in organic (and inorganic) synthesis, the application of novel reactivity to compounds of biological interest and the study of intermolecular forces by computational and crystallographic means. This makes him a good match with John T. Some more self-aggrandisement can be found on the web at www.john-hayward.net.

Dr. Oluwole Samuel Aremu

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2018-)

   B.Tech. (Hons) Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (Nigeria) 
   M.Sc. University of Ibadan (Nigeria)
   Ph.D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, (Durban, South Africa)
   PDF North-West University (Mafikeng, South Africa)
   PDF Linnaeus University (Kalmar, Sweden)

      Samuel was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and obtained his B.Tech. (Hons.) in Pure and Applied Chemistry from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, Nigeria, and his Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He taught as an Organic Chemistry lecturer at Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria, before completing his doctoral degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa under the supervision of Prof. Neil Koorbanally. His doctoral research was on the synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of novel pyrimidine derivatives. After completing his PhD, he obtained ahighly competititive  South Africa National Research Foundation grant (Postdoctoral fellowship for DST Innovation) for two years at North-West University with Prof. Lebogang Katata-Seru, where he works on the synthesis, characterization and application of polymeric nanoparticles for an Anti-HIV drug delivery system. He also works as a PDF at Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden with Prof. Ian Nicholls on the synthesis of molecular imprinted polymers and on computational chemistry. His research interests focus broadly on the organic synthesis of bioactive molecules, isolation and synthesis of natural products, the development of green chemistry methodologies, and materials science. He will be working on the syntheses of biologically active carbohydrates derivatives and the computational modelling of cannabinoid-receptor interactions during his time with the Trant Team at the University of Windsor.

Dr. Bukola Rhoda Aremu

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2018-)

B.Tech. (Hons) Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, (Nigeria) 
M.Sc. Federal University of Agriculture (Abeokuota, Nigeria)
Ph.D. North-West University, (Mafikeng, South Africa)
PDF North-West University (Mafikeng, South Africa)

Bukola graduated in 2001 with a B.Tech. (Hons.) in Pure and Applied Biology from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Nigeria) and MSc. in Genetics from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (Nigeria) in 2006. She lectured at Bowen University from 2008 till 2012 before she relocated to the North-West University in Mafikeng, South Africa to pursue her PhD with Prof. Olubukola Oluranti Babalola in molecular biotechnology developing an efficient rapid method to detect marcegens in exportable vegetables. After defending her thesis in 2016, she stayed with Prof. Babalola’s group to work on the interactions between maize and its pathogens, using genomic and proteomic data to better define the response to infection. She obtained a highly competititive South Africa National Research Foundation PDF grant, and is using its mobility to work with Dr. Trant’s team on the proteomic correlations of the tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens.

Dr. Farsheed Shahbazi Raz

Postdoctoral Researcher
(2019-)
B.Sc. Ardabil University (Iran) 
M.Sc. University of Tabriz (Iran)
Ph.D. Shahid Beheshti University (Iran)
 
Farsheed was born and lived in Ardabil, the coldest city in Iran, until the end of his undergraduate studies.  He completed his Master’s degree in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Tabriz, Iran, under the supervision of Prof. Ali Akbar Khandar. In 2016, he completed his doctorate at Shahid Beheshti University, Iran, where he conducted theoretical calculations to design spin crossover complexes under the supervision of Prof. Naser Safari. After his PhD he spent two years as the Local R&D Manager for MSM United Inc, a Canadian cosmetic company, in the Middle East.  His research interests focus on the use of computational chemistry for determining peptide function employing unnatural amino acids. In his spare time Farsheed enjoys being with his family, outdoor activities, Kickboxing, and traveling. As a member of the Trant Team, he will be working on the development of artificial amino acids for autoimmune disease treatments.

Dr. Nazir Tahir

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2019-)

Co-supervised with Prof. Rondeau-Gagné

B.Sc. Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan (Pakistan)
M.Sc. University of Technology Braunschweig (Germany, Prof. P. Mischnick)
Ph.D. University of Technology Braunschweig (Germany, Prof. P. Mischnick)
PDF Université du Québec à Montréal (Prof. R. Roy)
PDA University of Windsor (Prof. S. Rondeau-Gagné and H.S. Eichhorn)
 

Nazir was born in Vehari, Pakistan. He obtained his B.Sc. in chemistry from Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan. Afterwards, he got his MSc and PhD degrees from University of Technology (Technische Universität) Braunschweig, commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, the oldest Technische Universität in Germany founded in 1745, with Prof. Petra Mischnick. His PhD research focused on the synthesis of alkynyl ethers of dextrans as intermediates for new functional biopolymers and detailed characterization and applications of functionalized biopolymers e.g. for immobilization of enzymes and biocatalysis. After graduation, he worked at different universities in Europe, South Korea working on different research projects mainly in the field of synthetic organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and organic electronics. In 2015, he moved to Canada where he worked on the synthesis and applications of dendrons and dendrimers after joining the research group of Prof. René Roy at the Université du Québec à Montréal. In 2017, he joined research groups of Prof. Rondeau-Gagne and Prof. Holger Eichhorn and worked on the topochemical polymerization of nematic tetraazaporphyrin derivatives for the preparation of soluble polydiacetylene nanowires and liquid crystals for potential applications in organic electronics. In the mean time, also he worked on other related topics like synthesis of functional AuNPs stabilized by topochemical polymerization of diacetylene and synthesis of functional dendrimers using “onion-peel” method etc. Recently, he joined a collaborative project between Dr. Trant, Dr. Rondeau-Gagné and as a member of the Trant Team, he will be working on the process development of neutraceutical formulation for soft-gels and related topics Apparently he has no interests outside of the lab.

Dr. Abhinandan (Ronnie) Banerjee

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2019-)

B.Sc. (Chemistry Hons.) – Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India 
M.Sc. (Chemistry) – IIT Kharagpur, India (Prof. P. Pramanik).
Ph.D. University of Saskatchewan (Prof. R. Scott) 
PDF  University of Calgary (Prof. S. Trudel) Eyes High Fellow.
 

Ronnie’s research interests lie in the design, synthesis, characterization, and applications of novel nanoscaled composite materials. After completing his M.Sc. at IIT Kharagpur working with Prof. P. Pramanik on developing novel morphological variations of nano-phospors, Ronnie was awarded a Dean’s Fellowship at the University of Saskatchewan to do a doctoral degree with Prof. Robert W. J. Scott on catalytic nanocomposites in tetraalkylphosphonium ionic liquid matrices. This gave Ronnie a chance to work at the Canadian Light Source, Canada’s only second generation synchrotron. Ronnie received research funding from VWR, Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunity Fellowship, and the Gerhard Herzberg Award, named in honor of, and awarded by the family of, Nobel Laureate Prof. Gerhard Herzberg. Following graudation, Ronnie was awarded the highly prestigious Eyes High PDF at the University of Calgary, where he worked with Prof. Simon Trudel , director of the nanoscience program at UCalgary, on multifunctional bionanoprobes. This lead to a patent on a novel bionanoprobe that combines “aggregation induced emission” with MRI activity. Ronnie hopes to continue gaining fresh insights into the fascinating world of nanomaterials and their role in the universal human aspiration for comfort, if not happiness, by joining the Trant Team to work on innovative nanoformulations. Ronnie also enjoys the Golden age mysteries, classical music including bel canto and opera comique, art, cooking, and the great indoors.

Dr. Atefe Ghodrati

Postdoctoral Researcher
 

(2019-2021)

Atefe was born in a city in Mazandaran, Iran. She graduated in Applied Chemistry and then successfully obtained her Masters degree in Electrochemistry; both at Mazandaran University. Her Master’s thesis concerned the design and preparation of modified electrodes and their application in electro-catalytic oxidation. After her degree, she started teaching analytical chemistry at Azad university of Amol. Life being life, she then got married and moved to Tehran leaving her home town behind. She says she was fortunate enough to receive a bursary from Ministry of Health and Medical Education to pursue her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at University of Tehran starting in 2015. But really, she earned it through her strong track record. She is continuing this degree, and she is also collaborating closely with the Hezare Sevom Company to produce electronic content for chemical engineering students. She has also been active in the research and development’s unit of the Parsian Pharmaceutical Company as a researcher in the field of the synthesis of peptides, peptidomimetics and purification of peptides with preparative HPLC which is directly associated with her PhD research into the design of beta-secretase inhibitors. She is with the Trant Team for an 18-month research sabatical where she will join the team working in designing novel peptide therapies for autoimmune diseases with a special focus on arthritis.

Dr. Muhammad Usman Mirza

Postdotoral Researcher
(2020-)

M-Phil. Quaid-i-Azam University (Pakistan)

Ph.D. University of Leuven, (Belgium)

 

Muhammad Usman Mirza graduated from the National Centre for Bioinformatics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan. Afterwards, he joined the Center for Research in Molecular Medicine, at the University of Lahore as a research associate and participated in several projects and developed a series of close collaborative relationships. In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious IRO Doctoral Fellowship from KU Leuven, Belgium and pursued doctoral studies with Prof. Matheus Froeyen at the Rega Institute for Medical Research. He obtained his PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2020. During his career, his primary interest has been in interdisciplinary research focused on the investigation of molecular mechanisms of bio-molecular interactions by computational methods and the discovery of biologically active compounds with promising pharmacological properties using ligand- and structure-based methods. He has experience in molecular modelling and has completed a number of projects, independently or in collaboration. His multipronged research has already identified very selective HIV entry inhibitors, potent Zika protease inhibitors, and a few potential acetylcholine esterase inhibitors. After the submission of his PhD thesis, he was offered a postdoc position in Trant Team, where he will focus on the design and discovery of novel antiviral agents and the prediction of pharmacological properties using computational techniques. This will tie in with ongoing drug discovery work within the lab, and he is excited to be working directly alongside a team of synthetic chemists and molecular biologists to advance the hit-to-lead optimization stage of drug discovery. He is a friendly guy who loves to play almost every racket sport but quite good in Tennis, and has a strong amateur interest in swimming and cricket. He loves to hear the call of the mountains, and has a passion for camping. Essex county is apparently quite lacking in the former, although camping in Canada has been a long-term goal. Sometimes he makes vlogs of travel and food.

Dr. Michael J. Krause

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2021-)

Hon. B.Sc. University of Toronto at Mississauga

M.Sc. University of Guelph

Ph.D. Western University

Mike was born in Richmond Hill ON and grew up near Orangeville ON where he attended Mayfield Secondary School in north Brampton. Towards the end of high school Mike realized he was totally fascinated and in love with chemicals, chemistry, Bunsen burners, and torches of any kind. Through university Mike primarily studied inorganic chemistry, and on the side has been doing scientific glassblowing since 2003. He completed his BSc at the University of Toronto, Mississauga.

Mike studied under Dr. Michael Denk at the University of Guelph for an MSc where he worked with phosphenium cations to attempt the synthesis of a stable PN triple bonds and make PN-heterocycles. Mike then moved to London ON and began studying and synthesizing hyper – coordinate Germanium complexes under the supervision of Dr. Kim Baines at Western University. Mike synthesized numerous organogermane compounds, most interestingly GeH4 (germane) from hyper – coordinate Germanium complexes. Following graduation, Mike worked on polyurethane research in industry and developed new and better polyols for the synthesis of polyurethanes. While this research was very interesting and Mike learned a tremendous amount about materials science, Mike realized he really missed organic synthesis and made the move to join the Trant team starting in March 2021.

Mike is a very lucky guy in his personal life with awesome family and friends. He currently lives in London ON (soon to be Chatham ON) with his amazing and beautiful wife Geraldina (who among many other talents is a florist and professional organizer) and his semi – crazy but awesome Australian cattle dog Buddy.

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Abu-Saleh
Postdoctoral Researcher

(2021-)

B.Sc. Al-Hussein Bin Talal University (Jordan)
M.Sc. The University of Jordan (Jordan)
Ph.D. Memorial University (Canada)
PDF University of Windsor

 

Aziz received his B.Sc. in Chemistry with First-Class Standing from Al-Hussein Bin Talal University (Jordan) in 2011. As an undergraduate, he worked in the area of nanoparticles synthesis and their use for the extraction of heavy metals. In 2015, Aziz got his M.Sc. from the University of Jordan. His thesis title was “Mechanistic Study of the Deamination Reaction of Melamine: A Computational Study” under Prof. Mansour Almatarneh’s supervision. Afterward, Aziz moved to Memorial University to carry out PhD research on Computer Modeling and Simulations of Biological Systems under the supervision of Prof. Raymond Poirier. Aziz is currently interested in computational and theoretical tools for drug design and development. Understanding the mechanism of biological systems in atomistic details and predicting the thermodynamics and kinetics of the enzyme−substrate catalysis can help us to develop drugs with an improved therapeutic profile and reduced toxicity. The molecular modeling and simulations will provide an in-depth description of enzyme−inhibitor properties, helping experimentalists to understand the mechanisms behind the observed effects and to identify structural improvements for therapeutics at the molecular level. Aziz is also interested in machine learning and its applications to solve chemical problems. Aziz enjoys outdoor activities, working out, gardening, playing soccer, and traveling.

Dr. Purshotam Sharma
Postdoctoral Researcher

(2021-)

B.Sc. – Panjab University (India)
M. Sc. Panjab University (India)
PhD. International Institute of Information Technology (India)
PDF- University of Lethbridge (Alberta)
DST INSPIRE Faculty Awardee- Central University of Punjab (India)

Purshotam is a computational chemist by training. He completed his PhD in Computational Chemistry in India and moved to Canada for postdoctoral studies. It was at that time he became a permanent resident of Canada. His handsome son, Aarav was also born when he was a postdoc in Canada. Later, he moved to India for joining the DST INSPIRE Faculty position, and then moved to the position of UGC Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Panjab University. He was a Visiting Professor twice at the University of Lethbridge (in 2017 and 2018). He has handled two research projects in India and have two PhD students have finished their training with him. As a member of Trant team, he is working on Computational Aided Drug Design and testing of a specific class of G-protein coupled receptors.

Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2021-)

BSc. University of Punjab (Pakistan)
MSc. University of Punjab (Pakistan)
Ph.D. Karl Franzens University (Austria)
Assistant Prof. University of Lahore (Pakistan)
Senior Lecturer, Malaya University (Malaysia)
PDF University of Windsor


Sarfraz did his BSc (2001) and MSc (2004) degrees from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Since the start, he has been inquisitive in the drug discovery domain. During his MSc he synthesized new pyrazinamide derivatives active against tuberculosis. In 2008, he secured a fully-funded scholarship for overseas PhD studies and joined the lab of Dr Werner Seebacher at the Karl Franzens University, Graz, Austria. During PhD, he worked on the synthesis and structural elucidation of novel bicyclic amines, 5-amino-azabicyclo[3.2.2]nonanes,  a new class of compounds active against malaria and sleeping sickness. He achieved PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (2012) with distinction.  After his PhD, he returned and joined the University of Lahore in the same year as an assistant professor. He established the Chemical Biology/Drug Discovery Lab and started his research project for the discovery of novel Hsp90 inhibitors for cancer therapy. Alongside, he also worked on natural product extraction and bioautographic isolation of AChE inhibitors. At the start of 2019, he joined the Department of Chemistry at the Malaya University, Malaysia. In this stay, he worked on discovering novel antiviral, anticancer, and anti-neurodegeneration compounds.
His skillset involves computer-aided drug discovery, organic synthesis, and biological assays.
Apart from research, he loves to do 4×4 off-roading and online gaming.

Dr. Ezequiel Silva Nigenda
Postdoctoral Researcher

(2021-)

B.Sc. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (Mex)
M.Sc. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (Mex)
Ph.D. University of Glasgow (UK)

Ezequiel is a Mexican chemist whose motivation to understand and treat diseases came early in his life since his parents (both with medical degrees) showed him a way to help society. After obtaining his undergraduate degrees in Mexico, he moved to the city of Glasgow to pursue a PhD in the groups of Prof. Rudi Marquez and moving to Prof. Robert Liskamp´s once the Marquez´s moved from the University. His experience with multicultural groups has given him tools to understand how different visions and backgrounds converge to achieve the same goals.
His main research interest lies in the use of organic chemistry for the development of treatments and diagnosis tools for various diseases (previous work on carbohydrate, peptide and small molecule chemistry applied for tropical diseases, antimicrobial development and Drug Delivery Systems).
Outside the lab he enjoys music (probably way too much). Whether at a classical music concert or a metal gig, he shares the idea that life without music should not be called life.

Dr. Kasra Razmkhah

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2022-)

B.Sc. Azad University of Damghan (Iran)
M.Sc./Ph.D. University of Warwick (UK)
PDF University of Warwick (UK)
PDF University of Tehran (Iran)


Kasra completed his BSc in applied chemistry at the Azad University of Damghan before moving to the UK to pass a master’ course in “instrumental, analytical methods in biological and environmental chemistry” at the University of Warwick. Being intrigued by spectroscopy, he decided to continue his studies as a PhD student in biophysical chemistry at Professor Alison Rodger’s group, where he later worked as a lab technician and postdoctoral fellow. During his time at Warwick, he managed to introduce a new Raman spectroscopy technique, develop a new fluorescence linear dichroism spectroscopy technique, optimise a molecular alignment technique for small polar molecules, and publish some articles on spectroscopic signatures of small molecules. Kasra, then, moved back to Iran to complete his compulsory national service. He was permitted to conduct research on “extracting snake venoms’ key peptides and proteins using 2-D electrophoresis and TOF-TOF mass spectrometry” at AJA University of Medical Sciences while working as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tehran. At the University of Tehran, he mainly worked on using solid-phase extraction of trace pollutants in milk and sewage water, however, he also conducted localised surface plasmon resonance experiments on psychoactive drugs using gold nanoparticles and a smartphone platform.

Dr. Joseph Bautista

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2022-)

B.Sc./M.Sc. Toronto Metropolitan University

Ph.D. Memorial University of Newfoundland

PDF University of Windsor



Joseph worked on numerous environmental projects in Ontario, Canada from invasive species research to monitoring trace analytes at Toronto Metropolitan University, TMU (formerly Ryerson University). Working with his M.Sc. supervisor Dr. Andrew Laursen (TMU), he became a certified SCUBA diver to monitor lake sediment denitrification rates and their effects on nitrous oxide greenhouse gases. He then joined Dr. Cora Young’s (presently York University Guy Warwick Rogers Chair in Chemistry) research group at Memorial University of Newfoundland where he developed new methods for the collection and analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and their natural analogues from building rooftop aerosols and Atlantic fish livers. He has recently redirected his analytical chemistry interests into cannabis research through a PDF with Dr. Simon Rondeau-Gagné (University of Windsor) and CannaLabs Inc. (London, Ont), where he currently continues this cannabis research among other related analytical exploits with Dr. John Trant.

Joseph spends his time as a bicycle mechanic at a local bike co-op when he isn’t playing softball, watching and reading about sports and science, listening to science podcasts, and thinking about what a Star Trek StarFleet Captain would say.

Dr. Mary Egbuta

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2022-)

B.Sc. Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Nigeria)
M.tech. University of Johannesburg (South Africa)
Ph.D. Southern Cross University (Australia)


Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Mary completed her Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in Applied Biochemistry from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria. She has a master’s degree in Biomedical Technology from University of Johannesburg, South Africa, where she worked on Mycotoxins analyses in food products. Mary has extensive knowledge on extraction, quantification, and evaluation of toxicity of mycotoxins present in different food products and was privileged to work under the supervision of one of the renowned professors of Mycotoxins, Prof Mike Dutton.

Due to her quest for knowledge, she went ahead to do a PhD study in Plant Science at Southern Cross Plant Science Research unit of Southern Cross university, NSW, Australia. In her PhD study, Mary investigated the presence of valuable volatile extractives in cotton gin trash, a collaborative work with the Cotton Research Development Corporation, Australia. After her PhD study, due to her remarkable performance, the supervisor recommended her to Plant Science department for a position and she was offered a role as an Analytical Officer with the Analytical Research Laboratory, Southern Cross University. In this role, she performed quality control analysis of plant products for industries in the pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors. Mary also worked on a wide range of natural products including fatty acids, terpenes, sterols, and cannabinoids. An experience she brings along with her to the Trant Research team at the University of Windsor.

https://twitter.com/mary_egbuta

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-egbuta-phd-629a2520/

Dr. Farnaz Abed Ashtiani

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2022-)

B.Sc.   University of Tabriz, Iran
M.Sc.  Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia
Ph.D.   Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia
PDF     University of Tabriz, Iran


Farnaz was born in Tabriz, Iran. She received her B.Sc. in Plant Protection from University of Tabriz, where she was acknowledged with a Chancellor’s commendation for her outstanding performance. Farnaz obtained her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) under the supervision of Dr. Jugah Kadir and she was a recipient of a competitive international graduate research fellowship (IGRF) for her Ph.D. research at UPM with the focus on molecular identification and genetic diversity assessment of fungal isolates causing rice blast disease. Upon graduating from Ph.D., she received postdoctoral fellowship offered by Iran’s National Elites Foundation and was appointed as a PDF in Prof. Mahdi Arzanlou’s lab at the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Iran from 2016 to 2020. She worked on morphological and molecular identification of plant pathogenic fungi, their species diversity, population structure and genetic characterization as well as biocontrol of plant diseases. Farnaz was a lecturer at University of Applied Science and Technology in Tabriz, Iran from 2018 to 2022 where she was awarded as distinguished lecturer and also received a commendation for her excellent performance in online teaching. As a member of Dr. Trant’s team, Farnaz is collaborating with Dr. Aremu on antimicrobial screening project.

Dr. Anton Homon

Postdoctoral Researcher

(2022-)

B.Sc. Taras Shevchenko National University, Ukraine

M.Sc. Taras Shevchenko National University, Ukraine

Ph.D.   Institute of Bioorganic and Petro Chemistry, Ukraine

 

Anton has arrived in Canada escaping the war in Ukraine in 2022. He has got his master’s degree in Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev and his PhD in Institute of Bioorganic and Petro Chemistry (“Synthesis carbo and heterocyclic systems from aliphatic acrylonitriles”). His work experience at Enamine Ltd has 8 years of organic synthetic chemistry and 1.5 years of chemoinformatics at parallel chemistry. His scientific and work experience consists mainly of the multi-step synthesis of diverse small aliphatic building blocks, using various reaction conditions from -100°C to +900°C in temperature, from 0.01 mbar to 200 barin pressure, at 10 mg to 2 kg scale. In his work he was utilizing flow reactions, inert atmosphere, metal complex catalysis and photocatalysis. Outside the lab he enjoys music, movies, programming, astronomy, physics, math and economics.

Daniel Meister

Doctoral Student
Ontario Graduate Scholar

(2016-)

B.Sc. University of Windsor

Daniel was born in Israel and raised in Windsor. He completed his Honours Biochemistry with Thesis degree at the University of Windsor in 2016. During his undergraduate studies his research, on the computational study of Isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase and its editing mechanisms, was supervised by Dr. James W. Gauld. Daniel joined the Trant Team as a founding member in September 2016. His graduate research focuses on the rational computational design of novel amino acids, their synthesis and their incorporation into peptides for use as therapeutics for auto-immune diseases. Outside of chemistry, Daniel enjoys reading, watching movies, hiking and spending time with family and friends.

Mana Dashti

Doctoral Student
Trillium Scholar

(2017-)

B.Sc. Kharazmi University, Tehran (Iran)
M.Sc. Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Azad Univeristy, Tehran (Iran)

 

Mana was born in Ahvaz and raised in Tehran, Iran. She obtained her B.Sc in pure Chemistry at Kharazmi University.  After graduation, she continued her studies, completing an M.Sc in medicinal chemistry at the Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch of Azad University under the supervision of Prof. Solmaz Ghaffari, working on the preparation and optimization of new drug nanoformulations for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. After completing her degree, Mana worked in the R&D department at Kharazmi Pharmaceutical, an Iranian pharmaceutical company, before moving to the University of Windsor to pursue her PhD at the interface of organic chemistry and supramolecular chemistry as an Ontario Trillium  Scholar. Outside the lab, Mana likes exercising, walking, listening to music and watching movies. As a doctoral student in the Trant Team, Mana is working towards the desing and synthesis of new classes of self-immolative polymers for biomedical, drug delivery, and nanoelectronic applications.

 

Michael Reynolds

Doctoral Student
 

(2017-)

B.Sc. Wilfrid Laurier University
M.Sc. University of Windsor

Mike was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He obtained his B.Sc in Chemistry at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2015 under the supervision of Prof. Ken Maly on the synthesis of dibenzopentacenequinones. He then moved to the university of Windsor to pursue his M.Sc in organic supramolecular chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Loeb working on the synthesis of photoswitchable crown ether macrocycles, defending his thesis in 2017. Outside the laboratory, Mike enjoys playing sports, going to the gym, watching movies and listening to music. As a doctoral student in the Trant group, Mike will be working on synthesizing and characterizing C-glycoside “acetal-free” carbohydrate mimics.

Sanaz Nadimi

Doctoral Student

(2019-)

B.Sc. University of Azarbaijan Shahid Madani, Tabriz, Iran
M.Sc. University of Tabriz, Iran

Sanaz was born and raised in Tabriz, Iran. She obtained her B.Sc in pure Chemistry at Azarbaijan Shahid Madani university. She then moved to the Tabriz University and completed her master’s degree in organic chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Kazem Dindarsafa, working on the synthesis of vinylsilanes from 4-dialkylaminobenzaldehydes and investigating their reactivity. After graduation, Sanaz worked as a teaching assistant at the prestigious Khalili Medical Sciences School in Tabriz. She then worked as a technical assistant at the PET Factory, Food and Drug Organization, before moving to the University of Windsor to pursue her PhD with Dr. Trant. She will be working on a combination of peptide and carbohydrate chemistry to develop new methods for peptide and carbohydrate cyclization. Outside the laboratory, Sanaz enjoys doing pilates, playing volleyball, listening to music and travelling.

Sarah Nasri

Doctoral Student

(2019-)

B.Sc. University of Windsor (Trant Team, 2016-2019)

Sarah was born in Pennsylvania, USA and raised in Sydney, Australia. She began her science studies at Granville TAFE aiming to become a Laboratory Technician. After the completion of her diplomas, she became more interested in creating knowledge than simply doing technique, which led her to enroll and complete her Honours Biochemistry with Thesis degree at the University of Windsor in 2019. Sarah has been involved with the Trant Team since its formation in September 2016, starting as a 2nd year volunteer working on self-immolative materials and endcaps. Her graduate research involves the development of innovative self-immolative polymers and thermally sensitive materials for use as novel functional nanomaterials and molecular templates. Outside of the lab, Sarah can be found drinking energy drinks and eating sunflower seeds while drawing pictures, editing videos, or sometimes playing Runescape. 

Samra Khan

Doctoral Student

(2020-)

B.Sc. The Women University Multan (Pakistan)
M.Sc. The Women University Multan (Pakistan)

Samra was born and raised in Multan, Pakistan. She obtained her BS and MPhil, majoring in Organic Chemistry, from The Women University Multan, Pakistan. Her Master’s thesis was supervised by Ms. Tahira Saleem (WUM), based on Natural Product and Medicinal studies where she explored the pharmacological potential of two ethnomedicinal Plants: Euphorbia Hirta and Euphorbia Prostrata. After her graduation she continued as a research associate with her master’s supervisor and expanded her work towards the synthesis of natural product-based nanomaterials. Samra shifted her focus towards organic synthesis and their medicinal properties when she joined research group of Prof. Dr. Zahid Shafique (Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan) in 2018. There, she contributed to projects on the design and development of inhibitors for α-Glycosidase, Urease, Cholinesterases and Carbonic Anhydrases. Most recently, Samra has been a visiting faculty member at the Department of Chemistry, The Women University Multan teaching organic chemistry courses. Her passion for cancer drug discovery inspired her to work with the Trant Team for her PhD research. Her doctoral research will combine total synthesis, biological evaluation and computational evaluation to generate a new generation of  anti-cancer compounds targeting an abnormal kinase. Outside of academia, Samra is an avid reader (only an occasional introvert), loves to watch Turkish historical dramas, and ‘tries’ to stay on top of her gym routine. She basically survives on Tea (pictured)! Good thing we have lots of kettles.

Sanam Mohammadzadeh

Doctoral Student

(2020-)

B.Sc. Molecular Genetic at Shahed University of Tehran/Iran
M.Sc. Biochemistry (computational Biologys approach ) at Shiraz
university/Iran

Azam (Sanam) Mohammadzadeh was born and raised In Behbahan (Khuzestan Province, Iran). She obtained her B.Sc. degree in genetics, during which she became heavily involved in an extracurricular collaboration with telecommunication engineering students, on a project that used her molecular genetics knowledge. From there she was hooked on interdisciplinary research, and especially on bioinformatics. With encouragement from her biophysics tutor, she chose to pursue computational biology for her MSc studies at the University of Shiraz, one of Iran’s leading institutions. It’s also where she fell in love with computational chemistry and structural biology. Her research focused on the analysis of lipids and membrane protein dynamics using computational methods. During her studies she taught biochemistry to undergraduate biology students; following graduation she took up a lectureship position at the University of Khatam where she taught pharmacological chemistry with a focus on lipid biochemistry. She has joined the Trant and Tong groups in 2020 https://www.tonglab.ca/ for her doctoral work where she will continue to work on protein dynamics, but will also do experimental structural biology using both X-ray crystallography and solution NMR. Outside the lab, she likes to play the harmonica, singing, listening to music (especially Persian classical music), and walking. She really loves camping and getting out in nature, and looks forward to exploring the Canadian wilderness.

Behzad Bolandi

Doctoral Student
(2020-)

B.Sc. Material Science and Engineering at the University of Tabriz (Iran)

M.Sc. Biomedical Engineering (Tissue Engineering) at Amirkabir University of Technology (Iran)

 

Born and raised in Tabriz-Iran, Behzad was always curious about science and engineering from an early age. He was recognized as an outstanding student and won several national prizes from the Iranian Ministry of Education while still in high school. While completing his undergraduate studies in Material Science and Engineering at the University of Tabriz, Behzad wasn’t busy enough, so he was actively involved in two startup-companies focusing on self-cleaning glasses and solar cells, inspiring a strong interest in entrepreneurship.

He was admitted to M.Sc. program in Biomedical Engineering (Tissue Engineering) in Amirkabir University of Technology, where his research focus was in developing injectable hydrogels for cartilage tissue engineering, which led to the publication of several articles and a book chapter.

During and after his master’s program, Behzad worked as the supervisor of the Tissue Engineering Lab and the Advanced Scaffold Lab at Amirkabir University of Technology, as well as at the Research Associate in Pasteur Institute of Iran. He continued his work as a postgraduate research and teaching assistant at AUT prior to moving to the University of Windsor to pursue his Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Prof. Trant.

Besides academic life, he enjoys adventuring, traveling, reading, watching movies, and playing volleyball, soccer and badminton.

Sama Dehghan

Doctoral Student
(2021-)

B.Sc. Tehran Azad University (Iran)

M.Sc. Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (Iran)


Sama grew up in Tehran, Iran but is originally from Urmia. Being obsessed with Science, Sama chose to study Microbiology as her bachelor’s degree in Tehran Azad University. Her efforts to continue education in this field resulted in being awarded a full scholarship for her master education in Food Microbiology in Zanjan University of Medical Science where she worked on worked on Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates harboring exotoxin genes in vegetables under supervision of Dr. Fakhri Haghi and Dr. Habib Zeighami winning the appreciated student of the year. Sama then went to University of Windsor to work on a variety of projects at the interface of biology, chemistry, and biochemistry with the Trant Team. If you can’t find her in the lab, she is probably instructing Pilates, doing Yoga, or spending her time with her husband watching films.

Elham Pourian

Doctoral Student
 

(2021-)

B.Sc. Azad University, Tehran (Iran)

M.Sc. Iran Science and Technology University, Tehran (Iran)

Elham was born in Tehran and obtained her BSc in Applied Chemistry from IslamicAzad University (IAU) in Tehran. During her bachelor degree, she was a teachingassistant in inorganic chemistry and also worked at the Iranian Petroleum instituteworking with advanced instrumentation for oil and gas analysis. After her B.Sc., shedecided to pursue further studies with an MSc in Organic Chemistry at the IranScience and Technology University (IUST). She worked on various projects duringher degree (good preparation for the Trant Lab!), ranging from identifying toxicsubstances in meat to the synthesis of Nano particles. Her thesis focused on the useof nanobiocatalysts derived from the swim bladder of tropical fish, for the catalysisof the synthesis of pharmaceutical precursors. Following graduation she became ahigh school teacher to share her passion and knowledge of chemistry with students.But she missed the intellectual stimulation and challenges of research. She is veryexcited to join the Trant Team to learn, design, and discover new science and workwith all the other scientists in the group. Outside of science she loves swimming,basketball, watching English movies and listening to classical music.

Peihan Xu

Doctoral Student

(2020-)

Hazel was born and raised in Changsha, China. After spending nineteen years living in the same city, she decided to leave her hometown for university. She received her BSc in Bio-pharmaceutics from Tianjin Agricultural University (China) alongside with some lab work skills and interests in organic synthesis that led her to the Trant team. In her spare time, she enjoys movies, musicals, games, and chilling with her cat, Dafu (Chinese for ‘first officer’, named after Mr. Spock from Star Trek).

Olena Tykhoniuk

Doctoral Student

(2022-)

Olena was born and raised in Chernihiv, Ukraine. She got her bachelor’s and master’s degree in the Chemistry department at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She was always interested in the biochemical origins of life, that is why she chose the chemistry of natural compounds as her major. From the second year of study, this girl began to instill a love of chemistry in schoolchildren, starting a career as a volunteer teacher in the social center “Akademika”, Kyiv. Being active and highly responsible, Olena headed the center a year later, where she worked for the next four years. She graduated from the university with honors and received several honor awards (Victor Pinchuk Foundation program “Zavtra.ua” scholar, 2018-2019; Reformatsky special scholarship, 2018-2019; DAAD student exchange program (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, University of Konstanz). Olena is in love with science (which is a good fit with the Trant team) and she wanted to share her passion with others, so she became one of the organizers of scientific picnics for everyone. While studying for a master’s degree, she joined the Enamine team as a project manager, where she learned to solve a wide variety of chemical and other problems. Her life has changed on February 24, 2022, when she, like many Ukrainians, had to flee the war. Despite all the difficulties, Olena started a new life in Windsor thanks to the great support of Dr. Trant and his team.

İrem Şimşek

Masters Student
(2021-)

BSc. Bilkent University

MSc. Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Institute

 

İrem was born in Ankara and grow up in Adana, Turkey. She obtained her B.Sc in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Bilkent University. After graduating, she immediately began her M.Sc. in the same field at Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Institute, working with Prof. Ralph Leo Meuwissen. Her research focused on basic molecular mechanisms and translational therapies against lung cancer using a mouse model and lung tissue and cells. After obtaining her M.Sc. degree, she started her post-academic career in a medical company as a product sales specialist in Istanbul. But she missed the bench. Giving up the bright lights of Istanbul, she is starting with the Trant Team in Fall 2021 to study autoimmune disease and cancer molecular biology. In her spare-time, she likes traveling, watching TV series, and listening to music.

Jhanielle James

Masters Student

(2022-)

Jhanielle is an ambitious, vibrant, female student who was born and raised in Negril, Jamaica and attended high school at the Hampton School for girls. While there, she was placed on the Honour Roll and upon graduation, was awarded top performance in Biology and Chemistry. She then moved to Canada and attended the University of Winnipeg and completed a BSc in Biochemistry. There, she started to gain her research experience by working as a research assistant in ecological biology and organic chemistry, while representing the university as a student ambassador. She completed her undergraduate thesis in natural product chemistry by conducting phytochemical studies on plant species. Currently, she is pursuing her MSc in Biochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Trant to extract, synthesize and utilize cannabinoids in medicine and the industry. In her free time she enjoys swimming and watching movies.

Mohaddeseh Manouri

Master Student

(2023-)

B.Sc. Azad University (Iran)

M.Sc. Azad University (Iran)

Mohaddeseh was born in East Azerbaijan and holds a B.Sc in Cellular and Molecular Biology – Microbiology from I.A.U. She continued her academic pursuits at the same university, where she earned her M.Sc. under the supervision of Prof. Jafari. With training as a phlebotomist and translational scientist, Mohaddeseh specializes in the genetics and transcriptomics of viral infections and the response of viral infections in humans to drug treatment. As a skilled molecular biologist, she has also mentored other professionals in the field. Mohaddeseh later joined the Trant team at the University of Windsor, where she focused on formulation/natural product research. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and musicals, as well as spending time with friends.

Vlad Lytychevskyi

Visiting Scholar

(2023-)

B.Sc. Kharkiv  Shevchenko National University, Ukraine

M.Sc. Taras Shevchenko National University, Ukraine

Vlad Is synthetic organic chemist who started his journey in Kharkiv National University, where he completed his B.Sc in Chemistry working on synthesis of pyrrole derivatives, which in its turn ended up in his thesis “Synthesis and modification of 1,2-diaryltetrahydroindole”. In 2021 he moved to Kyiv to start his Master’s degree in Chemistry at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, simultaneously working at Enamine as synthetic chemist, dealing wi